My rear windshield

Last week I recycled the rear windshield of my Chevy Malibu. It was the latest in a string of incidents I've had with this car since the beginning of the year. I had a wreck in mid-February - the first I've ever had in the 25-plus years I've been driving. The lack of a rear bumper on the driver's side of my car carries testament to this.

Even the maintenance man at my apartment building said the other day "This just isn't your year, is it?" He added that he thought things would get better. I hope he's right.

Luckily, I have a friend who owns a collision shop, and he's willing to help me with repairs to keep me "street legal" at a discount price. He's made a lot of money off of me in the last four months. He's a great friend, and I would strongly urge anyone to try to find someone with this extremely valuable expertise and a heart the size of the world to match.

I drove the same Ford Escort for 15 years until it finally rusted out so badly that I literally couldn't drive it anymore. My tried and true, trusty (rusty!) friend is badly missed, and this grief is made all the worse by the knowledge that I will never own a car like that again.